We’re finally out of Vero and moved south to Stuart. The city of Stuart operates a mooring field about 7 miles up the St Lucie River. For $10 a day they give you a mooring, pumpouts and WiFi. The anchorage is more open than Vero and it is aligned in a north/south orientation so I expect when the northerns blow through it will be a bit rougher than Vero. We will wait until the next one comes through to pass judgment. We are fairly close to all our needs, grocery etc, so this is a good location to hold over while we wait for my next needle in the back.

The scuttlebutt around here is that this facility is closing down for a year while a private consortium develops it into a mega marina. I hope it does not destroy this very affordable facility.

1 February 2008

The weather so far has been delightful. Warm during the days and cool at night with winds out of the southeast at 5-10 kts. I finally got to install the float switch in the holding tank so we won’t have any more overflows. When the light goes on it’s time to get a pumpout. I had to install the switch from the inside and let me tell you it is NOT pleasant to be up to your elbow in your holding tank. We did flush it out as best as we could before I started, but……

On the pleasanter side, I also got our new radio installed so than now we can both listen to the iPod instead of just one through the headphones. In addition, the new unit hardly registers on the amp meter, while the old Sony unit consumed over an amp. When you live off the grid and have to generate your own electricity you begin to appreciate those electronics that are low consumers. Power is a problem since our only means o top off the batteries is to run the diesel and all that I read says that it is a killer to run a diesel without a load on it, like in neutral. This is not a problem when we move every day, but when we sit for a long spell, like we are doing now, we really draw down the batteries. Most boats we see along the waterway either have solar panels, a wind generator or both. A few even have small gas powered generators. The big electric consumer is refrigeration, which of course we do not have (we buy a lot of ice). Our biggest power hog is the computer when we use it for long periods (battery only lasts about one hour) to watch a DVD and run it on the inverter. The inverter pulls about 5 amps. The incandescent lamps are power hungry as well, drawing around an amp. Here we have used LED as much as possible, but the light intensity is a bit less. Now to put this all in perspective, we have only about 90 amps of power available to us from our fully charged batteries before we need to charge them back to 100 percent.

The pictures attached to this entry are of the Southpointe Anchorage at Stuart.

Well we are stuck in Vero Beach. Our original intent was to leave here for Stuart, which is about 40 miles south of here. It is here that I will be visiting a doc for relief from my back problems. But, apparently the mooring field down there operates on a first come first serve basis and there are no open moorings. It seems that there are a lot of boats waiting for a weather window to make the jump to the Bahamas. We have had a steady stream of northers that pass through the region. Northers are strong north winds that when they oppose the northbound gulf stream, build up big waves. As such, the prudent mariner does not leave for the Bahamas until the north wind have subsided for at least 24 hours and the winds will be coming out of the south for at least two days. So, there is a log-jam of boats on the Florida coast waiting. Last night we had north winds blowing at 25-30 MPH, but Vero is a very protected harbor with little fetch so the wind does not make for heavy chop in the harbor. I am attaching several pictures of Vero and its harbor. It bills itself as the gateway to the tropics.
Our stay here is sweetened by the presence of some dear friends who we have met along the way. They are veteran cruisers who have been to the Bahamas 5 times in a 26 foot water ballasted Macgregor sail boat and are currently on a 32 foot Gemini Catamaran. Talk about a quantum leap in comfort. We have had many a great night over food and wine (tequila, scotch, bourbon……) with them. They too are waiting for an appropriate window for the Bahamas and will be off when it comes.
25 Jan 2008
I finally got the treatment for my pinched nerve, which was NOT pleasant let me be the first to tell you. I got an Epidural (like in spine) injection of steroid. Well when to Doc stuck the needle into my back it felt like he stuck my toe in the light socket----Zap. I gotta go back in two weeks for the second shot and I’m not looking forward to it, but I am hopeful it will help my back.
26 Jan 08
RELIEF --Boy the miracle of modern chemistry. I am feeling better than I have felt in months, no back or leg pain. Since I will need to go for a second injection in two weeks we will leave Vero Beach and hang around Stuart for a while. Vero is nice, but our feet are getting itchy so it’s time to move on and see some more of Florida and get closer to the Keys.